Although I spent most of the weekend in fairly urban areas for a change, it did not escape my attention that there is a hint of spring in the air. And it got me thinking about the many weekends I hope to be spending at sunny crags in the company of my fellow Bowliners. So I'm crossing my fingers for good weather next weekend when I shall be heading out to our lovely club hut for some adventures.

And talking of adventures it seems the current conditions have got Bowliners in a frenzy of winter climbing with routes being climbed in Wales, Scotland and Norway. Makes me feel a little bit bad for wishing the spring to come soon. Perhaps in a future year when I've sampled the delights of winter climbing I may feel differently. But in any case I hope that if you've been out braving the cold, whether it be to climb, cycle, run or walk; you've been having some great times!

Looks like we've had a bit of a last minute run on places for the Mountain Biking meet which is great. Still a few places left if you want to join us (friends/partners/etc all welcome too).
And of course we have our first hut meet coming up on the 14th March. Get together with your Bowline buddies and enjoy the delights of Snowdonia knowing you've got a warm, comfortable hut to return to after the days adventures.

Attached is an order form for Club T-Shirts and Hoodies. We've put the club logo on the Front of the Clothing and the Legend "Bowline Climbing Club" on the back. The back of the form shows an example of what the T-Shirt looks like and I can promise you probably won't look as ugly as your club chairman.
We've selected two colours Royal Blue for the Unisex T-shirts/Hoodies and Sky Blue for the Female fit T-Shirts and also as a second option for the Unisex Hoodies. I Hasten to add at this point that your club secretary chose the Female colour. Anyway I think that the form is fairly self explanatory. You can fill the form in electronically, in Adobe Acrobat click the Sign button top right and then the Add Text button. Then fill in the form, save it and send it back to me.

You should have now all received an invitation to the AGM on the 18th March. The AGM is your opportunity to influence how the Club is run and organised and also vote on important things like membership and hut fees. You can also let the committee know where they are going wrong if you so desire! The committee is of course re-elected each year so you can influence who represents you on the committee. If you can't make the AGM you have the opportunity to register a proxy to vote in your place OR directly vote for the motions that were sent out with the AGM agenda. In addition you can propose people for positions on the committee. We would of course like to see you at the AGM.

The motions that have been sent out relate to changes in the Byelaws of the Club that have been implemented during this last year by the committee, but are requried to be ratified at the AGM.

We will also be discussing some proposed changes to the Rules of the Association (In effect the Club's constitution) and although we will NOT be voting on the proposed changes at the AGM. We would like your input as members before we draft up the proposed changes to the Rules of Association; we then intend to carry out a postal vote.

So I would like to add my voice to Andy Potter's and urge you to come to the AGM. If you can't make it to the AGM please do register a Proxy Vote as set out on the Proxy form and let us have this (Zoe Pickering) at least 48 hours before the AGM.

Apologies for the lack of update last week but I was busy sunning myself... ooops I meant climbing... in the South of France. Without rubbing it in too much we had a lovely time with lots of sunny days of climbing in the Ardeche Gorge, at Mount Saint Victoire, and also in the Calanques. There is so much great climbing to be had in France I think I shall be making many more return trips.

Whilst we were climbing in just shorts in the South of France I suspect Rob and Charlie were rocking a much greater number of layers for their weekend in Scotland. Our man in Scotland has sent us an interesting report on the activities north of the border, including news of another racing win for the unstoppable Zoe Procter. Check it out below (thanks Masa).

Just a reminder to everyone that there is the talk at the Climbing Station this Friday at 8 PM;
Big Walls, Beards and Bagels.
There are quite a few Bowliners going, so why not join us.
Tickets available from the Climbing Station, Zoe Pickering or Robin Richmond.

Great to see that Bowliners are making the most of the winter conditions. Simon Perry and Rob Goodman sampled the delights of Ice Climbing in Snowdonia earlier this week and I hear that Masa Sakano has had good weather (for ice climbing) up in Scotland. Personally I haven't been bitten by the winter climbing bug yet, so next week I'm off to the South of France for a week of warm sport climbing, can't wait!

And to help you get inspired for adventure why not join us for a top lecture from Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker - Big walls, beards and bagels - At The Climbing Station on Feb 20th at 8pm. Get your tickets in advance from Andy Railton (07894 533629) or Zoe Pickering (07709 337976).